There aren’t enough young farmers. Congress is looking to change that | NPR
“Access to land and the ability to purchase it were rated as the top barriers to entering farming in a new survey released by the National Young Farmers Coalition and analyzed by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center.”
“Groups like the National Young Farmers Coalition are pushing for lawmakers to address land access and barriers to USDA programs in the upcoming farm bill. The farm bill, which gets negotiated every five years, is an avenue for Congress to change the way that federal loan and technical assistance programs work — something the USDA cannot do on its own.”
“On Aug. 24, the USDA unveiled new pandemic aid dollars aimed at getting younger and more diverse people interested in jobs within agriculture — both farming and at the government level. About $300 million is now available to organizations that have projects for helping to increase access to land, capital and markets.”
“‘We think there’s a real opportunity here to expand the universe of people interested at all levels of farming and in food production — and we think it’s important to maintain our country as a food-secure nation,’ Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters.”
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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120100449/farm-bill-not-enough-young-farmers-congress
